Eating organic frugally on a budget using local and sustainable ingredients

Archive for the ‘soups & stews’ Category

So I made this last night for dinner and as always it was a HIT! My toddlers ate it! I was really really thrilled! It’s super super easy to make and it’s made with ingredients almost everyone already has on hand! The reason I use spicy Italian sausage is because it comes already fully and incredibly well seasoned. So, you don’t need to add any more spices, just salt and pepper. Of course you CAN use mild sausage, but it won’t be as spicy and you may want to add some fennel and red pepper (optional) to kick up the flavor of the soup.

Ingredients:

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2.5-3lbs spicy Italian turkey sausage

2 extra large onions, diced

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

3-5 medium carrots, diced

2-3 stalks celery, diced

1 28oz can diced tomatoes + 1 28oz can water

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

2 cups blackish green french or brown lentils (brown are my fav)

salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

1. In an extra large pot (6-8 quarts), add 2 tbsp of olive oil and turn your burner to medium/medium high and allow the pan to warm up.

2. If your family likes medium to large chucky bits of italian turkey sausage in their soup then just slice it into rounds and cut in half. I love taking it out of the casing and breaking it into crumbles like you would any ground meat. Removing it from the casing also disperses the spices into the soup better, making it stronger flavored.

3. Brown your sausage chunks or crumbles until golden brown and remove from the pot and set aside.

4. Add onions, celery and carrots to pot and scrap up all the browned bits (fond) on the pan. Later add the garlic and keep cooking until garlic is fragrant and onions and celery are translucent.

5. Once the onions, celery, carrots and garlic have become fragrant and translucent, add the diced tomatoes. water, tomato sauce, chicken broth and lentils. Bring the pot to a boil.

6. Once soup is boiling, skim off the scum that sits on the surface of the soup. Reduce your burner to medium/medium low so that the pot keeps a slow soft simmer where the bubbles are bearly breaking the surface. Leave it uncovered for 30-45 minutes, keep testing and tasting until the lentils are soft to the bite. Enjoy!

Well its been a long long long time since I have participated in menu plan Mondays, but I’m getting back on track and so here is the list of what we have coming up with week plus an excellent recipe for a simple cold gazpacho clean out the fridge soup! And the best part is you just need a blender ( stick or regular) and a knife! Since I have TWO toddlers now my menus have had to simplify A LOT.